Height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit

ABSTRACT

A height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit comprising a telescopic cage which comprises an inner cage and an outer cage, and a telescopic upright tube which comprises an inner upright tube and an outer upright tube and is accommodated in the cage, wherein the elements inner cage, outer cage, inner upright tube, and outer upright tube can be connected to each other via a shared, telescopic scaffolding, wherein the scaffolding is adjustable between a first detent position, in which the inner cage is latched with the outer cage and the inner upright tube is latched with the outer upright tube, wherein the upright tube is longitudinally displaceable within the cage, and a second detent position, in which an upper cage part is latched with an upper upright tube part, and a lower cage part is latched with a lower upright tube part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 ofInternational Application No. PCT/IB2018/060688, filed Dec. 28, 2018,which claims the priority of German Application No. 10 2017 131 401.6,filed Dec. 28, 2017, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a height-adjustable upright tube-cageunit comprising a telescopic cage which consists of an inner cage and anouter cage, and a telescopic upright tube accommodated in the cage,which consists of an inner upright tube and an outer upright tube.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A device of this type is already known from EP 1 795 660 A2. Thisdocument describes a flush valve and the associated structure for theactuation thereof, the structure also including an upright tube and anupright tube-cage surrounding the upright tube. In order to adjust theheight of the upright tube and the cage, the upright tube and the cagecan be telescopically adjusted and fixed in a desired position withrespect to each other with the aid of latching means. In this case, itis necessary, however, to adjust the two parts separately, and thereforecare must be taken to adjust the two parts in the correct ratio withrespect to each other. EP 2 146 012 B1 also operates according to such aprinciple.

In general, in the prior art, the height adjustment is carried outoutside of the cistern, because the latching means are difficult toaccess in the installed state. As a result, it is even more difficult tofind the correct adjustment, because an adaptation requires a removaland a reinstallation every time.

Yet another solution is already known from DE 602 12 070 T2, whichprovides a simple cage, in the case of which a frame extends upward andcan be locked in position via a toothed rack. In order to carry out asuitable adaptation of the upright tube in this case, it is necessary,however, to sever the upright tube which already includes predeterminedbreaking points for this purpose.

A solution which is similar with respect to the height adjustment isfound in the document EP 1 672 130 B1, which is likewise based on asevering of upright tube elements, for the case in which it isconsidered to be too long.

EP 2 692 956 B1 does not require an upright tube, but it likewiserequires a separate adjustment of the overflow and the cage, in that arotary bolt is brought out of engagement, is vertically displaced, andis rotated back into engagement.

As a rule, the cage, including a basin element, is screwed into the baseof the cistern and is secured there at least by way of being screwedtogether with the cistern. In the prior art, this already largelyestablishes the position of the entire structure, wherein the structuresare frequently at least largely rotationally symmetrical, in order tohave the required freedom with respect to the screwing into the finalposition.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is an elaborate and tedious process, however, when makingadaptations, to initially remove the entire structure from the cistern,make changes thereto, and then reinstall the structure, or to suitablymeasure the structure in advance, and therefore the problem addressed bythe present disclosure is that of providing a height-adjustable uprighttube-cage unit which is easily height-adjustable even in the installedstate and in the case of which a separate adaptation of the cage withrespect to the upright tube can be dispensed with.

This problem is solved by a height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit asdisclosed and/or claimed herein. Meaningful embodiments and refinementscan be found as disclosed and/or claimed herein.

A height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit is disclosed, comprising atelescopic cage which comprises an inner cage and an outer cage, and atelescopic upright tube which comprises an inner upright tube and anouter upright tube and which is accommodated in the cage,wherein theelements inner cage, outer cage, inner upright tube, and outer uprighttube can be connected to each other via a shared, telescopicscaffolding, wherein the scaffolding is adjustable between a firstdetent position, in which the inner cage is latched with the outer cageand the inner upright tube is latched with the outer upright tube,wherein the upright tube is longitudinally displaceable within the cage,and a second detent position, in which an upper cage part is latchedwith an upper upright tube part, and a lower cage part is latched with alower upright tube part.

According to the disclosure, it is provided that a height-adjustableupright tube-cage unit comprises a telescopic cage which consists of twoconcentrically situated parts which are slidingly displaceable withrespect to each other. An inner cage and an outer cage can be displacedwith respect to each other, in this case, in such a way that the base ofone part is secured on the bottom of the cistern, while the upper edgeof the other part forms the upper end of the structure. An upright tubeis situated in the interior of the cage. The upright tube can besimultaneously utilized as an overflow, if necessary, and can beconnected to the plunger of a flushing device, in order to trigger theflushing process. In this case, the upright tube is alsoheight-adjustable, since a taller upright tube is also required in ataller cage, in order to optimally make use of the taller design of thecistern.

In order to be able to adapt the upright tube and the cagesimultaneously and to the same extent in the case of a heightadjustment, the upright tube-cage unit comprises a shared, telescopicscaffolding which can connect the individual elements of the inner cage,the outer cage, the inner upright tube, and the outer upright tube toeach other in a suitable manner, depending on the detent position, withthe aid of detent means.

Two operating modes can be defined for this purpose, namely a firstdetent position which represents the normal operation, and the seconddetent position, in which the height of the upright tube-cage unit canbe adapted. In the first detent position, the inner cage is connected tothe outer cage and therefore forms a rigid outer structure.Simultaneously, the inner upright tube is connected to the outer uprighttube and therefore forms an upright tube which has the desired lengthand is height-displaceably mounted within the cage for the opening andclosing of the flush valve.

In the second detent position, however, the connections (according tothe first detent position) between the inner cage and the outer cage,and between the inner upright tube and the outer upright tube areseparated; simultaneously, however, new connections are established byway of latching, namely of the lower cage part with the lower uprighttube part, and of the upper cage part with the upper upright tube part.In this second detent position, the upper parts are now mounted so as tobe longitudinally displaceable relative to the lower parts, but they arefixed with respect to each other. Therefore, in the installed state ofthe upright tube-cage unit, the upper parts can now be jointly pulledupward, while the lower parts can jointly remain on the base of thecistern. An end stop may, in some embodiments, prevent a completedetachment of the upper parts from the lower parts in this case. If thedesired height of the upright tube-cage unit has been achieved, in thiscase, by pulling the interconnected upper parts, the second detentposition is exited again and is switched back into the first detentposition, in that the detent connections between the upper parts on onehand and the lower parts on the other hands are released and can bere-established between the upright tube parts on one hand and the cageparts on the other hands.

As a result, an adaptation of the height of the upright tube-cage unitcan be reversibly carried out at any time, in particular even in theinstalled state. It is only necessary to switch the scaffolding into thesecond detent position in order to carry out an adaptation; a switchback into the first detent position transfers the upright tube-cage unitinto the operating state.

In order to actuate the scaffolding and carry out a switch of the detentposition, the scaffolding can comprise a telescopic rotary shaft whichoperates multiple detent sliders which can establish and release thedifferent connections, namely the connections between the upper andlower parts of the upright tube-cage unit. The detent sliders aredistributed along the rotary shaft in such a way that one detent slidercan be provided in one plane in each case. The detent sliders can bemoved along the rotary shaft. In order to operate the detent sliders,the rotary shaft comprises actuator levers at the level of each detentslider, which engage into slotted links of the detent sliders, in orderto move the detent sliders. The actuator levers and the slotted linksare designed in such a way that the above-described latchings into theparticular associated detent positions of the rotary shaft can beadjusted.

Specifically, this can be achieved in that a first detent slider issecured on the outer upright tube and secures it to the inner uprighttube in the first detent position. If the rotary shaft is rotated intothe second detent position, the first detent slider is displaced so farbackwards that it remains connected to the outer upright tube, butreleases the inner upright tube and releases the fastening of the twoupright tube parts. In other words, the first slider may ensure apermanent fixation of the outer upright tube but depending on therotation of the rotary shaft fix or release the relative position of theinner upright tube. The first slider may establish either aninterconnection between the inner upright tube and the outer uprighttube (first detent position) or alternatively is only connected to theouter upright tube (second detent position).

Furthermore, a second detent slider can be secured on the inner cageand, during the adjustment of the rotary shaft in the first detentposition, can connect the inner cage to the outer cage. During a switchinto the second detent position, the second detent slider is displacedto such an extent, however, that the outer cage is released from theinner cage, but, in turn, the second detent slider is brought intoconnection with the lower upright tube part. In other words, the secondslider may establish either an interconnection between the inner cageand the outer cage (first detent position) or alternatively aninterconnection between the inner cage and the lower upright tube part(second detent position).

Finally, a third detent slider can be secured on the outer cage and, inthe first detent position, can remain completely disengaged from furtherelements. When the rotary shaft is rotated into the second detentposition, the third detent slider engages into counter-detent elementsof the upper upright tube part and connects it to the outer cage. Inother words, the third slider is either only connected to the outer cage(first detent position) or alternatively establishes an interconnectionbetween the outer cage and the upper upright tube part (second detentposition).

In particular, the outer cage is the upper cage part and the inner cageis the lower cage part. Conversely, in the specific embodiment, theupright tube inner part is the upper part of the upright (inner) tubeand the upright tube outer part is the lower part of the (outer) uprighttube. This is also described in this way in the following, but all othercombinations in which inner or outer parts are exchanged from top tobottom are similarly expressly covered by the disclosure, however.

To some advantage, in addition to the two above-described detentpositions, there can also be a third detent position, in which theabove-described first, second, and third detent sliders are not movedfurther. Such a third detent position is used for operating a fourthdetent slider and bringing it into a release position; in someembodiments, in the first and second detent positions, the fourth detentslider is always in a closed position. The fourth detent slider is usedfor establishing a connection between a base of the lower cage part, insome embodiments, e.g., of the inner cage, and a basin element. Thebasin element is intended to be screwed together with the base of thecistern, which can therefore be initially separately fastened. If theupright tube-cage unit is now placed onto the basin element, which hasalready been screwed together with the base of the cistern, and therotary shaft is rotated into the third detent position, the basinelement can be connected to the base of the first cage part and can besecured by way of a switch out of the third detent position into thefirst detent position. In some embodiments, the structure isalternatively designed in such a way that pressing the lower cage partonto the basin causes the connection to snap into place and the thirddetent position must, in some embodiments, be adjusted only for theopening thereof. This also allows for a fastening independently of thespecific rotational position, since the detent means of the basinelement are designed to be rotationally symmetrical.

Specifically, this connection, as is also the case with the connectionof the first detent element, can be a clamping connection, in whichpreloaded detent clamps are assigned to the detent sliders. These detentclamps surround an outer element in each case and engage into acontinuous detent groove, e.g., a detent opening. Sliding elements canbe provided in the region of the ends of the detent clamps, which canslide over a slotted link provided on the outer element, on both sidesof the detent groove. In the first detent position, the detent clampsadditionally engage into the underlying, congruent detent grooves of theinner elements, while they are moved, in the first or third position,along the slotted link into a position, in which the detent clamps arespread apart so far that they disengage from the detent grooves of theinner elements and, therefore, the connection of the particular innerelement to the particular outer element is released.

Alternatively, detent sliders can also be provided which comprise hookelements which engage into corresponding counter-detent means in theform of abutments. As a result thereof as well, a connection can beestablished which can released again in the opposite direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Both types of detent sliders can, in some embodiments, be implementedjointly in the disclosure. This is described in greater detail in thefollowing with reference to one some embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation obliquely from the front of anupright tube-cage unit as part of a complete flushing device, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective partial cross-sectional view obliquely fromthe above of the upright tube-cage unit according to FIG. 1, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective representation obliquely from above of thescaffolding of the upright tube-cage unit according to FIG. 2, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective representation obliquely from below of adetail of FIG. 2 in a third detent position, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective representation obliquely from below of thedetail according to FIG. 4 in a first de-tent position, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows a flushing device of a toilet including an uprighttube-cage unit, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1 shows a flushing device 24 which includes an upright tube-cageunit 20 according to the disclosure. The inner upright tube 3 and outerupright tube 4 is accommodated in the inner cage 1 and outer 2 and canbe lifted in the inner cage 1 and outer cage 2 with the aid of atriggering mechanism, in order to trigger a flushing process. A basinelement 16, which can be sealingly connected to a cisterb, is situatedon the base 15 of an inner cage 1. When the inner/outer upright tube 3,4 is lifted, the water contained in the cistern can flow into the basinelement 16 and can run, through a central opening which is otherwiseclosed by the upright tube 3, 4, into a toilet bowl connected at thebottom.

Since highly diverse cisterns are available on the market, the uprighttube-cage unit is height-adjustable, in that the upright tube is formedfrom an inner upright tube 3 and an outer upright tube 4, and the cageis formed from an inner cage 1 and an outer cage 2. FIG. 1 shows aposition, in which the aforementioned elements 1, 2, 3, 4 have beenbrought into the greatest possible extension, e.g., they have minimaloverlap.

Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows that the inner upright tube 3 located at thetop comprises numerous circumferential detent grooves lying one abovethe other, the inner cage 1 comprises two detent grooves, on the frontand the back, and the outer cage 2 comprises two rows of detentrecesses, on the front and the back.

A single detent groove of the outer upright tube 4 is first apparent inFIG. 2. The position of the upright tube parts 3, 4 (telescopic uprighttube 22) with respect to the cage parts 1, 2 (telescopic cage 21) can bemade apparent by way of a partial cross-section, in which a portion ofthe inner cage 1 and a portion of the outer cage 2 are removed in thiscase. FIG. 2 now shows the upright tube parts 3, 4 and the cage parts 1,2 pushed completely together. A scaffolding 5 is inserted between theupright tube parts 3, 4 and the cage parts 1, 2, which can connect theelements 1, 2, 3, 4 to each other in different ways. For this purpose,the scaffolding 5 comprises different detent sliders 11, 12, 13, 14which perform different functions. Inter alia, individual detent sliders12 and 13 comprise hook elements 10 which engage into abutments 19 ofthe upright tube parts 3, 4. The scaffolding 5 has been exposed in FIG.3 in order to better describe which detent sliders perform whichfunctions. The scaffolding essentially comprises a telescopic rotaryshaft 6, to which a total of four detent sliders 11, 12, 13, 14 areassigned. By way of a rotation of the rotary shaft 6, which can takeplace via a handle on the upper end of the rotary shaft 6, the rotaryshaft 6 is rotated between a first detent position, which represents thenormal operating state, a second detent position, which represents thestate of the height-adjustability by means of the detent sliders 11, 12and 13, and a third detent position, in which the upright tube-cage unitis released from the basin element 16 with the aid of the detent slider14.

The first detent position is shown in FIG. 3. A first detent slider 11is initially utilized for connecting the inner upright tube 3 to theouter upright tube 4. For this purpose, the outer upright tube 4comprises a detent groove, into which the clamp arms of the detent clamp9 of the first detent slider 11 consistently engage. In the first detentposition shown here, the clamp arms of the detent clamp 9 of the firstdetent slider 11 even engage into a detent groove of the inner uprighttube 3, which is situated congruently with the detent groove of theouter upright tube 4, and thereby prevent the inner upright tube 3 frommoving relative to the outer upright tube 4.

During a switch into the second detent position, the rotary shaft 6would be rotated and the actuator levers 7 of the first detent slider 11would be rotated in the slotted link 8 of the first detent slider 11 tosuch an extent that the first detent slider 11 is moved by the actuatorlevers 7 away from the outer upright tube, e.g., toward the front rightin the image. In this case, sliding elements mounted on the ends of theclamp arms of the detent clamp 9 would slide over a slotted linkextending along the detent groove of the outer upright tube and therebymove away from the outer upright tube 4, whereby the clamp armsdis-engage from the detent groove of the inner upright tube 3 and wouldrelease the inner upright tube.

Simultaneously, during this switch, the second detent slider 12 and thethird detent slider 13 are moved in the same way in the oppositedirection, and therefore the particular hook elements 10 assigned tothese detent sliders 12, 13 engage into abutments 19. In this case, thehook elements 10 of the second detent element 12 will hook intoabutments 19 of the outer upright tube 4, and the hook elements 10 ofthe third detent element 13 will hook into abutments of the innerupright tube 3. Simultaneously, abutments of the second detent element12 release a connection between the inner cage 1 and the outer cage 2,and therefore the upper parts 2, 3 and the lower parts 1, 4 are each nowcoupled, and a suitable height adjustment can be carried out. In thiscase, the telescopic rotary shaft 6 can likewise be extended, whereinonly the third detent slider 13 is moved upward with the tip of therotary shaft 6.

The lower end of the scaffolding 5 relates to the fastening of the basinelement 16 to the base 15 of the inner cage 1. In the first detentposition shown, the sliding elements on the ends of the clamp arms ofthe detent clamp 9 on the fourth detent slider 14 are in a statedisengaged toward the left, in which the basin element 16 and the base15 are engaged with each other. By way of a rotation of the rotary shaft6, in the direction opposite to the previous direction, into the seconddetent position, the rotary shaft 6 is brought into the third detentposition, in which the fourth detent slider is retracted and releasesthe basin element 16 from the base 15. A snapping-in of the base 15 intothe basin element 16 can take place in any detent position.

This released position is represented in FIG. 4, once again with thebase 15 and the basin element 16 shown. The base 15 comprises a detentgroove 18, into which the detent clamp 9 engages. The sliding element onthe end slides on a slotted link 17 and, thereon, is located at thehighest point above the jacket portion of the base 15. The detent clamp9 therefore engages into the detent groove 18 of the base 15, but notinto the underlying, congruent detent groove of the basin element 16.

This is the case again only when, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotary shaft 6has been rotated back into the first or the second detent position and,as a result, the fourth detent slider 14 including the detent clamp 9 isfurther disengaged. As a result, the sliding element on the end isdisplaced beyond the sliding link 17 to a lower point than the slottedlink 7, and therefore the detent clamp 9 now engages not only into thedetent groove 8 of the base 15, but also into an underlying,corresponding and congruent, circumferential groove of the base element16. A connection to the basin element 15 has therefore been established.

Described above, therefore, is an upright tube-cage unit, in the case ofwhich the various elements of the upright tube and of the cage can beconnected to each other by way of the use of a scaffolding not only inthe operating state, but also in a further state, in which the uprighttube parts and the cage parts are separated from each other and,instead, upper elements and lower elements are connected to each other.In such a state, the upright tube-cage unit can be brought into thedesired extension, by being pulled apart or pushed together, and, there,can be returned to the operating state.

FIG. 6 a flushing device 24 which includes an upright tube-cage unit 20according to the disclosure. A basin element 16 is provided which can besealingly connected to a cistern 25. When the inner/outer upright tubeis lifted, the water contained in the cistern 25 can flow into the basinelement 16 and can run, through a central opening which is otherwiseclosed into a toilet bowl 23 connected at the bottom. Since highlydiverse cisterns 25 are available on the market, the upright tube-cageunit 20 is height-adjustable.

Upon installation of a flushing device into a toilet cistern, it isimportant to adjust the flushing device, in particular the upright tubeand the cage surrounding the upright tube, to the height of the cistern,since there are no uniform shapes and sizes of cisterns. For thispurpose, known devices provide for severing parts in order to reduce thesize or for utilizing clamping devices; in any case, however, knowndevices provide for producing the upright tube and the cage separately.This is an elaborate and tedious process, and therefore the disclosureshall offer a simpler solution which, simultaneously, consistentlycomplies with the standards with respect to the overflow height. This isachieved by way of the use of a scaffoldings which can connect thedifferent elements of the upright tube and the cage not only in theoperating state, but also in a further state, in which the upright tubeparts and the cage parts are separated from each other and, instead,upper elements and lower elements are connected to each other. In such astate, the upright tube-cage unit can be brought into the desiredextension, by being pulled apart or pushed together, and, there, can bereturned to the operating state. The required size ratio remainsdirectly attained in this case.

1. A height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit comprising: a telescopiccage which comprises an inner cage and an outer cage; and a telescopicupright tube which comprises an inner upright tube and an outer uprighttube and is accommodated in the telescopic cage, wherein the inner cage,outer cage, inner upright tube, and outer upright tube can be connectedto each other via a shared, telescopic scaffolding, wherein thescaffolding is adjustable between a first detent position and a seconddetent position, wherein, in the first detent position, the inner cageis latched with the outer cage and the inner upright tube is latchedwith the outer upright tube, and wherein the upright tube islongitudinally displaceable within the cage, and in which in the seconddetent position, an upper cage part is latched with an upper uprighttube part, and a lower cage part is latched with a lower upright tubepart.
 2. The height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 1,wherein the scaffolding comprises a telescopic rotary shaft whichoperates detent sliders provided for latching the inner cage, outercage, inner upright tube, and outer upright tube, wherein the rotaryshaft comprises actuator levers which engage into slotted links assignedto the detent sliders in order to actuate the detent sliders.
 3. Theheight-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 2, wherein the detentsliders comprises a first detent slider and the first detent slider issecured on the outer upright tube and, in the first detent position,fastens the outer upright tube to the inner upright tube and, in thesecond detent position, releases this fastening.
 4. Theheight-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 2, wherein the detentsliders comprises a second detent slider and the second detent slider issecured on the inner cage and, in the first detent position, fastens itto the outer cage, and, in the second detent position, fastens the innercage to the lower upright tube part while releasing the connection tothe outer cage.
 5. The height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim4, wherein the lower upright tube part is the outer upright tube.
 6. Theheight-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 2, wherein the detentsliders comprises a third detent slider and the third detent slider issecured on the outer cage and, in the second detent position, fastens itto the upper upright tube part and, in the first detent position,releases this fastening.
 7. The height-adjustable upright tube-cage unitof claim 6, wherein the upper upright tube part is the inner uprighttube.
 8. The height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 1,wherein the scaffolding provides a third detent position which isreachable from the first detent position and which actuates a fourthdetent slider without influencing other detent sliders, in order torelease a connection of a basin element to a base of the lower cagepart.
 9. The height-adjustable upright tube-cage unit of claim 1,wherein at least individual detent sliders are preloaded detent clampswhich engage around an outer element while engaging into a slotted linkand, in an open position, engage into a detent groove of the outerelement and, during the transition into a closed position, advance intoa detent groove of an inner element which is congruent with the detentgroove of the outer element.
 10. The height-adjustable upright tube-cageunit of claim 1, wherein at least individual detent sliders comprisehook elements which engage into abutments, provided therefor, of anelement to be fastened.